Adinkra are traditional symbols that pass
on the wisdom
of Ghana and West Africa.

Monday, July 12, 2004

Ted called
to say that they are on the road from Kamasi to Yendi (about
a 12 hour drive). Ted
says Daniel Stearsman is now a veteran campaigner -- having
become an avid consumer of turkey tails (a Ghanaian fastfood) bought usually from roadside vendors in Nsawam.

We arrived safe in Yendi and were met by Niipaa Laar and a number of other brethren.
Niipaak's wife had the whole group over for dinner which was
very nice - rice, cabbage and guineas. We were late leaving
Tema because of extra boxes that Glaxo contributed to the
work. We are getting ready for bed and are all happy and
well.

Ted

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

In Yendi, the group visited the leprosy
center where we have four brothers in Christ. One had recently
died and they distributed some food and money to help them
out.

They were then able to visit a church run
clinic and see how it operated. This is also where they picked
up all of the medications, that had been purchased, that
would be needed for the mobile clinics to be conducting
this week.

They then visited a center for malnourished
children and were also able to go over and talk to the well
drilling team.

They then left Yendi for Bunkpurugu but
along the way were misdirected and ended up headed for
Togo.
They corrected their course but because of the heavy rains,
the bus slipped off the road and got stuck in the mud. All
had to get out and push, along with the help of some twenty
villagers.

When finally arriving at Bunkpurugu, they
were pleasantly surprised to find very nice accommodations
(for the area). The "motel" had been updated with
a toilet, a shower and a solar powered fluorescent light
in some fo the rooms. They had two or three people to a room and
although there was no running water, at least they could
take a bucket
bath in semi-privacy.

In the evening, they headed out to do street
preaching but heavy rains forced them to cancel. They turned
around and started back to the motel, but in the rain, the
clay road had become very slick and they lost control of
the bus, ended up sideways on the road and stuck in the mud
again.
They all had to get back out into the rain and mud, and push
the bus most of the way back.

They did make it back safely though and
everyone was getting ready for bed; exhausted, but doing
well.
Tomorrow, they get up and start all over again.

Ted

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Ted called and said they had a good day.
No getting stuck in the mud.

They visited a school and
interacted with the children and made a donation to their
building program. Later they showed the Jesus film and
Patrick Ford (Renee's brother) delivered a sermon. Four
responded and requested baptism but there was no water
available at that location. They are coming tomorrow to
the compound and the group will take them for baptism.

Daniel Stearsman isn’t feeling well, upset stomach
and a low grade fever. Malaria’s incubation time
is a minimum of eight days but they decided to go ahead
and treat it as malaria just in case. It could be just
the good ol’ American flu.

Ted

Thursday- Saturday, July 15-17, 2004

We
thank Renee Wheeler for forwarding this report
she received on Saturday morning (July 17).

Ted called and reports that they
have been very busy and running on three hours of sleep
a night.
They
are having problems keeping all of their battery operated
stuff charged -- which also includes their satellite phone.

Since talking to me last, they have gone
to the well that the ladies from Orange St. sent money
for. They poured the concrete to finish it off and met
the chief of the community. The group offered the chief,
who is over 90, a seat in the air-conditioned bus while
they were there and gave him a baggie of trail mix. He
really enjoyed that.

The next day, yesterday, they had a clinic
where they treated @ 150-200 people. The chief showed up
again and asked Patrick for more trail mix. There was another
chief there and so the two of them had trail mix and peanut
butter crackers. Such simple things and yet so meaningful.

There was a Ghanaian sister bitten by
a viper and she was taken to a hospital a few hours away
to be treated with the anti-venom.

Last night they had street preaching
after showing the Jesus video. Brother Daniel Stearsman
preached an bro. Niipaak Laar interpreted and extended the invitation. Ted said that they both did a wonderful job. There
were 34 responses. They went a mile or two and dug out
a place where there was shallow water to make it deep enough
for baptism. What a wonderful day!

Daniel is feeling all better and everyone
else is well. Today they were supposed to have another
clinic but it was rained out. They will use the day to
mingle with the townspeople and introduce themselves to
the local marketplace and the people there. This morning
Ted and Niipak went to check on the sister who was bitten
by the snake and to pay her medical bills. Anti-venom is
expensive and thankfully God provided help for this Christian
sister, not only physically and spiritually, but also monetarily.
The sister was one of seven snake bite victims and was
doing better than the others and is expected to be fine.

God truly watches over us. Thank you
all for giving so generously this year. Things like this
come up every year and sometimes we had needs that we just
could not meet. With all of us doing what we can and being
willing to help when able,we glorify God and Jesus and
the church that he died for.

Please continue to keep them all in your
prayers.

Ted

As reported by Daniel Stearsman on
his return home. Ted is still in Ghana.

Monday, July 19, 2004

This was the second of our clinic days. Saturday the 17th
got rained out. This was a far better experience than the
first clinic. We wisened up a little in our procedure.

The first clinic held on the prior Friday (7/16) was a nightmare. The people
were pressing on top of us. We could hardly hear. We were cut off from the
breeze, due to the crowds. It was to end at 3 PM, but we didn't leave till
after 4PM. It was held outside under a tree in Gbetimong (pronounced Beta-mong).
But, the well drilling in this village, plus the clinic had a great impact
we believe on the gospel. That night when we preached there were probably 300-500
people who watched the film and heard the gospel. That night there were 34
baptisms and the following Sunday, 11 more. This clinic ended up seeing 132
patients.This clinic was
held in a school house in the village of Gbingbani (??) (pronounced
Bing-Bon- nee). This was a far more efficient clinic. We
had rope and crowd control in place and were able to see
286 patients (418 total). You didn't have to be medically
trained to have an impact. We needed the help of all the
group. Some were prepackaging malaria treatments. Some were
dealing with the crowds (and those who would cunningly try
to push to the front). There was a job for everyone. There
were wounds that needed attention, candy to give away. It's
difficult to imagine a medical environment such as Bunkpurugu
(of which Gbingbani is a village). Bunkpurugu is a large
community of 100,000 people including all these villages.
For that community, there are few medically trained. There
was 1 medic (the medical director with whom we worked) and
we heard of another medically trained individual (who was
reportedly a drunk!). The fact that there may be 1-3 other
individuals who practice medicine (in the manner as the medic)
for this entire population is unbelievable by our standards.
All complicated matters are sent to Yendi hospital, which
is a 2-3 hour journey away over rough terrain. There is no
guarantee that you will be treated efficiently or effectively
when you get to Yendi. As frustrated as we get with our Medical
treatments (dealing with HMO's, long wait times, scheduling
MD appointments, etc.), at least it is somewhat accessible
to us. Most of the patients that we saw where treated for
malaria, parasitic worms, skin infections, some ophthalmic
infections, malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, protein deficiency,
and inflammatory disorders (which were often described as "waist
pain", likely from carrying heavy object on there heads/backs
for years over long distances). The people were tremendously
greatful! It's hard to tell the impact of the clinic on the
community, since we were there so briefly. What we do know
is that the people are aware of who we are as Christians
and are exposed to the benevolence of Christ offered by the
clinic. Many missionaries (denominational or otherwise) do
not venture this far North because it such an extreme experience.
The impact of the clinic and the growth of the church in
that area we may never know this side of eternity. We pray
that it's impact may continue.

Daniel

Tuesday, July 20, 2004We traveled from Bunkpurgu back
to Yendi, where we dropped the medications back off,
along with the generator and
headed to Mole (where the game reserve is). What a refreshing
experience -- rooms with running water, and toilets that
filled themselves (if the water was on), and AC (ahhh!).
Although, our AC unit sounded like it was giving birth
at different times throughout the night! We found no other
small AC units in the morning! Ha!! We ate a restaurant
at the reserve. The menu was comical. There was a pretty
extensive menu listed (and we had notions of home). But
basically what available was chicken and rice or rice and
chicken or guinea fowl. Although there were Yam fries.
We were thankful for the AC, food, and to be somewhere
closer to home in our "time machine".

Daniel

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

We spent Wednesday in the game reserve at Mole. We were
greated by baboons in the morning, who are not shy of coming
up to you and taking any food items you may have. We observed
multiple elephants, gazelle, wart hogs, and many dearlike
animals (where hunters like Ted salivated). The proximity
to the elephants (and our guide cocking his gun, while
telling us to retreat) was most exhillerating. We were
in their home.

Daniel

Thursday, July 22, 2002

We traveled back to Tema where we stayed at Earnest Apeadu's
house.

Daniel

Friday, July 23, 2002

We went to High street in Accra (the big market center
for souvenirs). I got to spend much of the day with Bob
and Jim and enjoyed the fellowship and sharing war stories.
I thought Bob was going to beat up his navigation crew!!

Daniel

Saturday, July 24, 2002

We traveled to Elmina castle (a center for slave trade
from the mid 1600s on) and to the swinging bridges. Elmina
was a humbling experience as 2/3 of the slaves died. The
only hope a woman had of being free was to be impregnated
by the governor, to have the child, and then she would
be set free. Refusal of the governor's sexual advances
placed the subject in the courtyard where they were made
a public example by being chained to a canon ball for 24
hours. Men who attempted to rebel were often put in solitary
confinement where starved to death.

Daniel

Sunday, July 25, 2002

We divided up and went to various
congregations. Ted let me do the radio program Sunday
AM. That was first for me.
He said that there could have been 1.5-2 million Ghanaians
listening. The FM station reaches far throughout the country.
I was sent with 2 other sisters to the Lebanon Rd church
of Christ. The singing was amazing. Many of the questions
that the brethren are likeour own. They asked about the
impact of culture on worship. Irony peaked when one brother
asked a question about the final state of those individuals
in the villages of Ghana who had never heard the gospel
or who had heard and obeyed a perverted form. I tried to
teach them that God's provision of salvation exists only
in Christ, that all are ameniable (even those in the villages)
to Christ and His teaching, that Biblcally ignorance does
not excuse a person, lest one be saved by a means other
than Christ (thus God let Him see corruption when salvation
was available by other means). The irony was "thick" in
that here (in to us -- are the remote regions of the earth)
they were asking the same question. While those who have
perverted His gospel are numerous, this question makes
me wonder if the "remote regions" are more places
in our minds than in reality. It is comforting to know
that although these brethren are 8000 miles away from us,
they are not that different from us in the questions and
struggles they have. My appreciation for our brethren of
Christ has grown immensely. I do not hesitate to say that
the greatest individuals who walk this earth are members
of the Lord's body, His Church. I am thankful to be associated
with them. While to the Ghanaians we are a tremendous source
of encouragement and strength, we were the ones who seemed
encouraged most. Our association with the Ghanaians and
their great warmth made us long for eternity-- to know
them better, to enjoy there fellowship, and to endlessly
commune with God.

What a blessing it was to be in Ghana!

From here we would have lunch and get ready for our long journey home.

Daniel

"Thank you", to all who encourage us, pray for us and support us in this work. As we work together - it is my prayer that God will bless our efforts richly to His glory and the saving of many souls.